


death in life's clothing

by graveExcitement (arachnids)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Blood Drinking, Body Horror, F/F, Horrorterrors - Freeform, Multi, Polyamory, Undead Animals, Vampires, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-11-28 20:22:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11425494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arachnids/pseuds/graveExcitement
Summary: In her quest to solve the problem of her unending bloodthirst, Kanaya Maryam is led to a pair of witches. What follows includes sunlight, blood, tarot, love, and the undead. Though not necessarily in that order.





	1. the reading

**Author's Note:**

  * For [voidsygil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidsygil/gifts).



> For the prompt:
> 
> "Fantasy au where Rose is a necromancer or dark witch of some fashion, Jade is an adventurer or rogue or magic user of some sort and Kanaya is a vampire who is trying to keep it secret but honestly isn’t terribly good at it."
> 
> Hope you like it!

The witch had been waiting for Kanaya's arrival, that much was evident. Kanaya had stepped into the small clearing and stopped to gaze at a sprawling house, made from birch wood, nestled in the dark woods. Just as had been described to her by the villagers. The front door had opened then, and out stepped a woman garbed in robes of gold, accented with threads of black. Her hood fell low enough to cover her eyes completely, and yet she turned to face Kanaya and said, "Greetings, traveller."

"Salutations," she said, cautious.

"Won't you come inside?" said the witch.

She hadn't come this far to turn back now. "Certainly."

The witch beckoned Kanaya into the house, and Kanaya followed her inside. Up close, she could see that the witch's hood was lovingly embroidered with a sun.

The house's interior was different than she'd imagined a witch's house to be. Oh, it had all the right elements: crystals, herbs, bones, even a cauldron. But everything was neatly organized; there was no clutter to be seen. And the books! Multiple walls were take up with shelves and shelves of books.

"Why don't we sit down?" said the witch, gesturing to a small table at the side of the room. As they sat, Kanaya noticed that the table cloth was not plain black, as she had first thought, but faintly patterned with images of eldritch horrors.

"First of all," said the witch, drawing Kanaya's attention back to her, "I'm Rose." And she drew back her hood, revealing pale white hair and striking purple eyes.

"Kanaya. It is nice to meet you, Rose."

Rose's lips curled upwards into a smile. "A polite troll? Wonders never cease. But enough pleasantries, dear Kanaya. What brings you here?"

"I am in... pain," she admitted. "Due to a lack of... nutrition. I had hoped that a witch such as yourself might be able to brew me a potion, or make me a poultice, or... something that would assuage the hunger, or ease the pain."

Rose leaned back in her chair, piercing Kanaya with her gaze. Kanaya waited, wondering if she would see through her. The hunger, of course, was closer to thirst, though the two sensations had become intertwined for her, into a single, desperate ache that could only be sated by blood.

She had hoped to catch and drain a few animals during her trek through the gnarled forest to find the witch's house. Animal blood did not sate her thirst, not truly, but it could at least tide her over for a time. But the forest had been eerily empty, and even when she had finally caught a rabbit, it had been just as cold and dead as she was. She'd set it free, and it had hopped away.

Finally, Rose shook her head. "I do not believe I can provide you what you seek," she said, regretful. "But perhaps I can divine some relevant information." She reached out to a nearby shelf and retrieved a deck of tarot cards. The cards' backing was black, with a grey eye in the center, surrounded by shards of amethyst. "Since you have been so polite, I will give you a reading, free of charge." She smiled, and started shuffling.

"Are people usually impolite to you?" Kanaya asked. "That seems unwise, considering."

Rose laughed. "You would think that people would be wary of upsetting a witch experienced in supposed dark majyyks," she agreed. "And yet..." She shook her head, and finished shuffling.

The witch held the cards in her hands, considering. "A three-card spread, I think," she mused. "Sometimes the simplest approach is best." She placed the cards on the table. "Cut the deck, if you would. Think about your problem as you do so."

Kanaya did as she was bid, fixing the problem of her thirst in her thoughts. It was not a particularly hard task; it was easier to think about her thirst than to block it out.

With her left hand, Rose drew and placed three cards. "The first card," she said, "represents yourself."

Kanaya looked down to where Rose's slender finger was tapping the first card. The card showed a cloaked figure, with a ram's skull for a head. The bottom of the card read, 'XIII - DEATH.'

Her bloodpusher-beat was already slow, but just then she felt as if it had stopped. _Death_. Well. That was scarily accurate.

"There is no need to fear," said Rose, no doubt seeing her shock. "Despite the card's name, Death usually does not mean a literal death. It is more likely to mean... change. Metamorphosis."

That only made Kanaya's feeling of unease grow. Metamorphosis... now that was apropos. "I see."

"The second card represents the reality of the situation." Rose peered down at the card, which depicted a woman kneeling, hands clasped in prayer. "The Five of Pentacles. This is a time of need and desperation."

Kanaya raised an eyebrow. "Shall I make an observation about the hue of the sky?"

"Hush," said Rose, but she was smiling. "The third card will give you advice for the situation. Let's see... Oh, now this is interesting. The Sun."

Once again, Rose's cards had proven to be unnerving. The third card showed a bright sun, shining over a vast desert. For most trolls, the harsh light of the sun meant sunburns at the least, possibly going blind, even death if one was out in the daylight for long enough. (Humans' skin was less sensitive, though it too was vulnerable to burns in the summer months; carapacians were immune to the sun's rays.) As a jadeblood, she had always been able to withstand the sunlight. As a rainbow drinker, she quite literally was a creature of the light. She had barely managed to learn to _suppress_ her light.

"What does it mean?"

"There are several possible meanings. Joy, positivity... success. Usually, success via attainment of knowledge."

She crossed her arms. "So, I can learn what I seek by... learning."

Rose hummed in thought. "There is another, more obscure meaning. Cooperation. Yes, I believe that's what the card means in this case." She folded her hands on the table. "To summarize, you are going through a period of change, metamorphosis. Yet this metamorphosis is draining you. You are desperate - not to stave off the change, but to survive it. In order to do so, you must work with others. Only through cooperation will you succeed, and find joy. And..." She stared down at the cards, studying them. "Hmm."

"Hmm?"

"The Sun," said Rose, cryptically. "Perhaps this is a sign."

"What further significance might it have?" Kanaya asked dryly.

"Many tarot readers choose, or find, a card that symbolizes their own self. The Sun is my significator. Perhaps it is me whom you must cooperate with." She drummed her fingers on the table. "A clarifying card," she decided. "Who or what should we seek to work together with, or on?"

She drew the top card and turned it over. The card was abundant with nature: trees, flowers, vines. And in the center, a woman. The card read, 'III - THE EMPRESS.'

"The Empress." Rose traced her index finger around the card. "Fertility. Nature."

When she did not say more, Kanaya offered up, "I heard rumors of another witch in this area. One who specialized in... plants?" Between a green witch and a dark witch, she'd thought it easy to discern who could help her.

Rose nodded. "I have not sought her out. But I know where she is." She collected the cards and returned the deck to a small, drawstring bag.

"You do?"

She smirked. "Once you see it, you'll think it's obvious too." She stood. "Shall we?"

Kanaya blinked, caught off guard. "Then you truly intend on accompanying me? Why?"

"I try not to ignore the cards when they send a message," Rose said loftily, arching an eyebrow. Then she smiled. "Plus, I like you. You're... charming."

Kanaya had no idea what to say to that, so she nodded her acquiescence and followed Rose out of the house.

* * *

"Not a lot of people come my way, you know," Rose said, breaking the quiet. They were not following any discernible path, but Rose seemed to know her way through the woods.

"Oh?"

"I'm told it gives off a 'haunted forest' vibe... though I suppose trolls don't care about that as much. But even aside from the spookiness... people tend to be put off by the smell of rot."

Kanaya swallowed. "Ah." She had not noticed it. "Does this have to do with the... undead animals?" she ventured.

"Indeed," said Rose, sounding amused. She came to a stop. "Here we are."

Kanaya stared. A few meters ahead of them, the forest transformed. Lush, verdant plant life sprawled everywhere. Flowers bloomed, butterflies fluttered about, and she could hear the chirping of birds. And there was the faint scent in the air of nectar.

"Precisely," said Rose. "If one was to come across a fork in the road, and one path led to my part of the forest, and the other led to hers..."

Kanaya hummed in understanding.

* * *

The green witch, it turned out, lived in a tower of white marble, about as tall as the tallest trees in the forest.

"Shall we knock?" Rose asked, putting a hand on Kanaya's shoulder. For a moment, Kanaya was overwhelmed by her mouthwatering scent. Then she got ahold of herself.

"That seems prudent." They stepped up to the door, and Kanaya gave it three sharp raps.

There was quiet for a moment, and Kanaya internally debated when it was polite to knock again before she heard faint footsteps from within the tower, getting louder: a rapidly increasing _tap tap tap tap._ Then the door was flung open, and a woman in an ink-black dress with bright green eyes beamed at them.

"Hi!!!" said the green witch.

"Greetings." Rose smiled. "I am Rose, and this is Kanaya."

"I'm Jade! You wanna come hunt zombies?"

"Zombies?" Kanaya blankly repeated.

"Yep! At least I think they're zombies. Could be demons. Might be unfathomable horrors, but if so, they're small ones. You in?"

She considered this. As a rainbow drinker, she was faster, stronger, and resistant to most forms of death, compared with most mortals, human or troll. "I don't see why not," she ventured, glancing at Rose, who had an odd expression on her face.

"Sounds fun," said Rose.

"Great!" Jade grinned. "Hold on just a moment." She disappeared into the tower, but not even half a minute later, she was back, this time with a rifle slung across her back. "Okay, let's go!" The door slammed shut behind her as she marched out of the tower and into the lush forest. Kanaya and Rose followed her, Kanaya accepting, Rose seeming faintly bewildered.


	2. the bleeding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is where the 'body horror' tag comes in (it's not about any of the three main characters.)

There was quiet for a while as they journeyed through the forest, Jade leading the way. The further they went, Kanaya noticed, the less verdant the woods became, and more cold.

Jade broke the quiet eventually. “As far as I can tell, these are just zombies. Slow, but there’s enough of them that I wasn’t certain about tackling them all myself. I mean, I would if I had to - probably would’ve scampered up a tree and sniped them, if it’d been just me. But you guys came along at just the right time!”

“Where did they come from?” asked Kanaya.

“No idea! I noticed a few of them wandering in from the dark side of the forest, but who knows how long they’ve been walking.”

Rose said, “I think I saw one as well, several days ago. But my home is warded against the undead, so I’ll admit I didn’t worry overmuch. Question, Jade. Your weapon of choice is a _rifle_?”

“Yep! Why, what do you use?”

“Wands, primarily. I find magic to be a useful deterrent against the supernatural.”

Jade grinned. “Bullets are pretty good too - at least against zombies! And I _think_ these are zombies. If they’re not, your magic will come in handy! Hey Kanaya, what have you got?”

“I prefer the chainsaw.”

Both witches stopped and stared at her for a moment. Rose cleared her throat. “So did you _bring_ -”

There was a groan behind Rose. Kanaya pushed her aside and found herself face to face with a shambling revenant. Quick as a flash, she uncapped her lipstick and demonstrated the efficacy of a chainsaw on a zombie... by sawing it in half.

Jade grinned. “Color me convinced!” she said. “Makes a mess, though.”

There was indeed quite a lot of blood. To Kanaya, it smelled cold, rotten, cursed. Unappetizing.

“And it transforms into lipstick while you’re not using it? Ingenious,” murmured Rose. “A truly impressive work of transformation magic.”

“Hey, I think the rest of the zombies are nearby!” Jade announced, unslinging her rifle and aiming it. “Fewest kills is a rotten egg!”

“You’re on,” said Rose, drawing her wands.

Then the zombies were there, and Kanaya’s world consisted of chainsawing through as many of them as possible. She fought with Rose and Jade at her back; to her right she could hear the crack of gunfire, and to her left she could see the blasts of dark energy pouring from Rose’s wands. It felt natural as anything to fight alongside them, and for a time she fell into the rhythm of combat.

Eventually, Kanaya felled the last of the undead coming in her direction, and the lack of gunfire and blasts of magic informed her that her companions had finished as well. Only -

“What the fuck is that??” Jade yelled.

“Unfathomable eldritch horror, I believe,” Rose said dryly.

The creature before them was nauseating to look at. It had uncountable eyes, a dozen orifices of an unknowable nature, and a multitude of limbs, constantly shifting.

It smelled like ink, and power, and malice.

Its mouths moved; the warbling yet guttural sounds it made did not form understandable words, but the meaning was deposited into their heads.

[ **R O S E L A L O N D E** ]

Kanaya felt as if someone had coated her thoughts with slime. She shuddered.

“Fuck,” Rose muttered; then she replied, in the same eldritch tongue as the creature. It sounded like she’d said something like “Sthgh,” but the word that arrived in Kanaya’s head was, [ Yes? ]

[ **YOU WILL PAY WHAT IS OWED** ]

Rose raised her wands. [ My debt is paid. ]

[ **THE POWER YOU CLAIM CAN ONLY BE PAID FOR WITH DEATH** ]

[ Yours, or mine? ]

[ **YOUR INSOLENCE CHANGES NOTHING. YOU DESTROYED THE REVENANTS. YOU WILL NOT EVADE ME.** ]

[ Surely something else can be arranged? ]

[ **YOUR AGREEMENT IS IMMATERIAL. YOU WILL NOW PERISH.** ]

“Fuck _that_ ,” spat Jade, and fired a round into one of the creature’s eyes.

The creature roared, an unholy sound that left blood trickling out of Kanaya’s ears. She revved her chainsaw and charged, sprinting across the forest floor towards the creature, swinging her chainsaw to tear through its ethereal limbs.

Repeated gunshots told her that Jade was backing her up; and behind her, she could hear Rose chanting something in that other tongue.

She hefted her chainsaw, swiped again - and again - tearing through eldritch flesh, continuing despite the terrible, nauseating stench. The creature cried out again in pain and rage, and stabbed at Kanaya with a tendril that she realized too late was _sharp_. The creature speared her through the stomach, lifting her off the ground before flinging her aside.

She hit a tree and slid to the ground, chainsaw flying out of her hand. Vaguely she heard her companions cry out in shock and horror. ‘ _I need to help them_ ,’ she thought, and struggled to get up. But the pain was overwhelming, and even more so, the _hunger_ , so long ignored, now refusing to be put aside. Not even the nauseating stench of the creature’s flesh and blood kept the hunger at bay.

As if in a dream, she heard the sound of Rose’s chanting reach a crescendo and then stop. At that moment, the creature vanished, taking most of its smell with it.

Seconds later, she heard the sounds of quickly approaching footsteps. Then Rose and Jade were there, Jade dropping to her knees before her, Rose kneeling at her side.

“Please be okay,” Jade was muttering, over and over, “Please be okay… oh no…”

Kanaya closed her eyes, trying to focus on the scents of the zombies’ rotting corpses and the monster’s spilled blood. It was no use. The witches… they were _mouthwatering_. They smelled delicious.

“Um. Why is she glowing?” Jade asked, hesitant.

“I believe it is because she is a vampire,” said Rose.

“Rainbow drinker, actually,” Kanaya croaked. She was so, so thirsty…

“My mistake,” said Rose, then: “If you’re about to bite and feed from one of us, I volunteer. I’ve always wondered what that would be like. Also, as you may have ascertained already, this entire situation is mostly my fault.”

Kanaya opened her eyes to see that Rose had extended a slender arm in front of Kanaya’s face. It broke whatever inhibitions she had left, and she ravenously sank her fangs into Rose’s wrist and _drank_.

It was everything she needed - everything she’d wanted - everything she’d forbid herself from. As she drank, she could feel her wounds healing. The blood was glorious, it was rejuvenating, it was _life_ …

“Kanaya, that’s enough!”

She opened her eyes, saw Jade, worry and desperation plain on her face. After a moment with wrestling with her instincts, she unclenched her jaw, letting Rose extricate her wrist.

No sooner had she done that than did Jade launch herself forward and wrap her arms around Kanaya in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” Her warmth was comforting, even if they were both covered in blood.

“You’re not… angry? Scared?”

“Of course not!” Jade pulled back from the hug, just enough to look Kanaya in the eye. “Scared for you, yes, but not _of_ you!” And she tilted her head towards Kanaya’s, pressing her lips to hers in a short, searing kiss. She tasted of gunpowder and soil and blood.

When Jade drew back, Kanaya looked to her right and saw Rose, primly wrapping a bandage around her wrist. “I hope I didn’t drink too much,” Kanaya said, guiltily.

“You’ve left me a bit lightheaded,” said Rose. “Though I don’t know for certain if that’s the blood loss... or  _you_ …” She smiled, and winked for good measure.

Kanaya hadn’t thought she was still capable of blushing, and yet… “Probably the blood loss,” she said; uncertain, she leaned towards Rose, who eagerly met her halfway. Rose’s lips, she found, were not as warm as Jade’s, and she did not kiss quite so fiercely, but her lips were so _soft_ against Kanaya’s. She tasted of lilacs and ink and blood.

After they drew apart, Jade announced, “My turn!” before crowding up against Rose, claiming her second kiss. Rose was enthusiastic, if the way she held Jade close to her was anything to go by.

When they separated, the three of them sat there for a moment, grinning at each other. Finally Jade said, “We should probably go back to my place, clean up.”

Rose sniffed. “Agreed.”

* * *

The tower's interior enchanted Kanaya. There was greenery everywhere, vines crawling across walls and into windows, flowers blossoming in every room. Sunlight streamed through windows and shone on plants on the verge of overgrowing their pots. It reminded her of home.

They bathed separately, and Kanaya gratefully accepted a change of clothing from Jade.

When they were all dry and clothed they settled onto one of the couches in the third floor living room. Jade sat at one end, Kanaya leaned against her, and Rose stretched out across their laps.

Jade asked, “So why did you two come here, anyways?”

Kanaya blinked. “I was… seeking an alternative to blood as a food source, actually. There are not many - before today, I would have said ‘not any’ - who would willingly allow me to feed from them. And I refuse to hunt the unwilling.”

“Hmm.” Jade pondered this, running her fingers through Rose’s hair. “To be honest, I don’t know of any cure, or any replacement for blood for vampires... or rainbow drinkers. But…” She pressed a kiss to Kanaya’s cheek. “I’d be willing to donate blood when you need it!”

“I am as well, obviously,” said Rose.

Kanaya smiled. “That will more than suffice.”

**Author's Note:**

> title comes from [the song of the same name](https://eidolonorpheus.bandcamp.com/track/death-in-lifes-clothing) by Thomas Ferkol


End file.
